UNITED NATIONS: Ending the Israeli occupation is the only way to lay the foundation for an enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty, top United Nations officials said on Thursday.

“It is the only way to achieve the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” Secretary General António Guterres said in a message to a forum held at the UN headquarters to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The war resulted in Israel’s occupation of West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and Golan Heights of Syria.

In the message, read out by Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, Mr Guterres said: “It is time to return to direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law. It is also time to end the conflict by establishing an independent Palestinian state, side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel.”

The occupation, he noted, has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people. “Generations of Palestinians have grown up in crowded refugee camps, many in abject poverty, and with little or no prospect of a better life for their children.”

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2017